Fandom Snowflake Challenge, Day 4

[aadler]

Continuing the meme/challenge begun and tracked here.

Fandom Snowflake Challenge, Day 4

In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private. Leave a comment here saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Very little new, and most of it non-fannish.

1. Lose weight, of course. The difference is, this time it’s a matter of continuing to lose weight. I dropped over 30 pounds after my last return from China (horrified at the sight of myself in the hotel room’s full-length mirror), let myself gain back nearly 20 of it, then resumed the previously successful program. I’m currently three pounds over my previous low point, and I’m aiming to slim down another 15 or 20 by the same methods I’ve been using.

(I’d also like to help my wife Susan drop more weight and get more fit. Her physical condition is well below mine, the result of chronic maladies, so the extra weight augments the deleterious effects for her. That will be tricky to work: I can control how much I eat and exercise, I can only support her choices. Still, it’s a goal.)

2. My current job is probably the easiest one I’ve ever had, but after a year there I’d like to see myself move up a bit. I’m already looking to get a better position (and one that should better suit my capabilities and personality), but within the same company rather than switching. Just because I’m basically satisfied doesn’t mean there’s no room for advancement, and advancement wouldn’t require more effort or commitment than it’s worth.

3. Susan and I have made improvements to our living arrangements (substantial yard work, needed repairs to the hall bathroom and the kitchen plumbing, getting the gas range back into operation), but there are more that need to be taken care of, and we’re finally in a position to go at those larger jobs. Honestly, some of those things may end up being left for prospective future owners to take care of, because —

4. We’re no longer thinking of moving overseas; we’re no longer even planning to move overseas; we’re presently working on moving overseas, for which the first steps will be 1) getting rid of decades and generations of accumulated possessions, and 2) selling our house so we won’t be abandoning it or trying to get by as way-far-absentee landlords.

5. I still have some stories I want to turn out, and in my own way I’ve been working through a backlog of older ideas. I’ve cleared enough of them that only two major ideas remain (“SaM” and “TPA”), with probably half a dozen others that I don’t want to abandon but no longer feel guilty about not finishing right away. “SaM” is the one that would have to come first thematically, so my main fannish goal is to finish that one; anything else I manage along the way is bonus. (Just for context, I know I’ve been intending to do “SaM” ‘next year’ since 2005. Enough is enough.)

6. I intend to continue my participation in this year’s summer_of_giles. Might even have an idea of which story I’ll look to do.

7. This year’s cof_remix (Circle of Friends) will be the tenth. I never intended it to be a big event; I always wanted it to be a bit larger than it ever got; it’s been fun, but the reward-to-effort ratio has been a matter of diminishing returns for a while now. This may be the last year for the event. Even if not, it’ll be the last one I absolutely know I’ll do.

Anything else that comes up … well, I’ll take whatever comes, but the above pretty much covers my current goals.

Comments

[sparrow2000.livejournal.com]

Re Goal 4 - As someone who has moved lock, stock and barrel across the Atlantic three times in a decade, I know how big the shift is from thinking/talking/planning to actively pursuing how you can make the move to another country happen.

Decluttering so you’re not filling your shipping container with ‘stuff’ is a great step forward and I think you are wise to look at selling up your house so you can start fresh.

Good luck as you work to make this huge life change happen.

[aadler]

Still a work in progress. It could take a couple of years to pull everything together. Susan’s main concern is that we manage to get it done before her health becomes such that she can’t do so many of the things she wants to do.

All the same, we’re on it. Thanks for your best wishes.